For many years, women have worn one and two-piece bathing suits and swimsuits for purposes of sun bathing and swimming. Typically, women's bathing suits are made of expandable elastic material so that they fit tightly about the body when worn. While tight fitting suits are popular because they accent body contours and provide minimum interference for swimmers, they nevertheless embody certain inherent problems and shortcomings. For example, putting on and taking off a tight fitting once-piece swimsuit can be quite a chore, particularly when the swimsuit is wet. Even more troublesome to many women who wear single-piece bathing suits is the requirement that the entire suit be removed when it is necessary to use the restroom. Not only can this be embarrassing at public beaches, swimming pools, and the like, the inherent difficulty in taking a wet suit off and putting it back on in a crowded restroom can be time consuming and frustrating. A swimsuit designed to allow its wearer to use the restroom without removing the suit completely would thus be highly desirable.
Attempts to provide one-piece women's bathing suits with removable or displaceable crotch portions have been made. U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,600 of G. C. Finn, for example, discloses a women's bathing suit having a tubular body that extends below the crotch area to form a partial skirt. Beneath the skirt portion of the tubular body is a crotch piece that can be unzipped from beneath the skirt in the front of the bathing suit and swung back between the legs when it is necessary to use the restroom.
While the configuration of the Finn suit appears to be a step in the right direction, it is nevertheless plagued with its own problems and shortcomings. In particular, the crotch piece, itself, in Finn, along with its zipper and related buttons and snaps are unsightly and unfashionable, and thus must be covered with the skirt portion of the suit. This configuration does not lend itself to modern, more revealing swimsuit fashions wherein the suit rides high on the hips. In addition, the zipper and buttons associated with the crotch piece of Finn can be uncomfortable, particularly when the suit is wet. Further, detaching and displacing the crotch piece in Finn can itself be quite a chore since a zipper and a set of snaps must all be manipulated to remove and replace the piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,308 of Herbener discloses an alternate solution. In Herbener, a seemingly one piece swimsuit actually comprises two pieces, a top piece and a bottom piece. The top piece is itself a complete one piece suit that extends through the crotch area but that is split in this area to allow access to the toilet. The bottom piece of the Herbener suit is a panty-like garment that fits over the bottom portion of the top piece and covers the split crotch area in normal use. Obviously, the suit disclosed in Herbener also has numerous problems. For example, even though the crotch portion of the upper part of the suit is split, it nevertheless can become soiled when its wearer uses the restroom. Furthermore, the design of the Herbener suit, like the Finn suit, does not lend itself to modern swimsuit fashion, which tends to be slighter and more revealing than the suit shown in Herbener.
Many U.S. patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,836 of Carlson, 4,957,110 of Smith, Sr., et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,795 of Lonon, disclose undergarments with displaceable crotch portions. Clearly, such undergarments are unsuitable for use as swimsuits. Even if they were usable as swimsuits, they nevertheless require fastening means, such as Velcro.RTM. strips, for attaching the crotch portion. These are unsightly, unfashionable, and unsuitable for swimsuits and can also be uncomfortable for the wearer.
Accordingly, a continuing and heretofore unaddressed need persists for a one-piece women's swimsuit that allows its wearer to use the restroom without having to remove the suit completely. At the same time, the configuration of the suit should be adaptable to modern, more revealing swimsuit fashion design. Such a swimsuit should also be equally as comfortable as a traditional one-piece swimsuit and should not require zippers, Velcro.RTM., or other fasteners that are unsightly and uncomfortable for the wearer of the suit. A maternity configuration should be available for use by pregnant women. It is to the provision of such a swimsuit that the present invention is primarily directed.